A day after Democrats dominated the first major Election Day since Donald Trump returned to the White House, the president is in Miami to speak at a forum of business leaders and global athletes about what he sees as his economic achievements.
While a debate about the future of the Democratic Party may have only just begun, there are signs that the economy — specifically, Trump’s inability to he promised last fall — may be a real problem for Trump’s GOP heading into next year’s higher-stakes midterm elections.
The Republican president’s speech to the America Business Forum will be a broad look at his economic agenda and how investments he has secured abroad help U.S. communities, according to a senior White House official.
Democratic candidates who won Tuesday in the and governor’s races, and the , focused their campaigns on the public’s cost-of-living concerns.
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Los Angeles immigrant rights groups urge Dodgers to decline White House visit after World Series win
Los Angeles immigrant rights groups are urging the Dodgers to turn down a visit to the White House this year after winning the World Series.
A coalition of groups including the ºÃÉ«tv Day Laborer Organizing Network held a press conference Wednesday urging the baseball team, whose ownership has come under fire from activists after federal immigration agents were seen in a Dodgers Stadium parking lot, to not go to the White House in a show of solidarity with the city’s immigrants.
The Dodgers visited the White House last April for a ceremony to honor the 2024 World Series Champions.
“Our community has been attacked everyday and that’s why we stand here and we’re asking our beloved Dodgers to also stand with us,†said Jose Madera, director of the Pasadena Community Job Center. “To not accept any invitation to the White House, to not shake the hand of the person who’s causing all this suffering in our community.â€
A spokesperson for the Dodgers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment asking if they have invited the Dodgers to visit.
Miami mayor hands Trump key to what could be the location of his future presidential library
“This is a key that opens some really nice presidential library real estate,†Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told Trump as he handed over the gift during the president’s speech at a business conference in Miami.
Trump called it a “great honor†and said he would take the key to the White House before he moves it to Doral in about three and a half years when his term ends. Trump owns a golf club in nearby Doral, Florida.
But it’s not a done deal that Trump’s presidential library will be built on a parcel of prime real estate in downtown Miami.
A judge has temporarily blocked Miami Dade College from giving away the land. The school has appealed the decision.
2 Pennsylvania counties had to replace poll books in the middle of Election Day voting
Two Pennsylvania counties on Tuesday had to replace poll books at all polling places in the middle of voting because of what officials described as mistakes made in creating the voter data.
Affected voters were offered provisional ballots as a temporary fix, and Chester County got a judge’s order to extend voting by provisional ballot for two hours past the usual closing time.
Chester County apparently used voter data containing just voters registered with the two major parties — like it might for a primary election — for the printed poll books that went to polling places, Secretary of State Al Schmidt said. By mid-afternoon, the state and county supplied supplemental poll books, Schmidt said.
In Fayette County, the state Department of State mistakenly supplied electronic voter data from 2024, officials said. Voters arriving at the polls, in some cases, found that the county’s electronic poll books listed them as having already voted.
Election workers switched to backup paper poll books, county election director Marybeth Kuznik said.
Pentagon conducts missile test amid increasing nuclear test rhetoric
The Pentagon announced Wednesday that it had successfully completed a regular test of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile amid apparent signals from both President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin about restarting nuclear testing.
The test of the unarmed Minuteman III rocket was routine and scheduled years in advance, . The launches help the military verify and demonstrate the effectiveness, readiness and accuracy of the missiles that serve as one of the three pillars of America’s nuclear deterrent.
The early Wednesday launch came hours before to submit proposals for a possible resumption of nuclear tests in response to that appeared to suggest the U.S. would restart its own atomic tests.
However, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that new tests of the U.S. nuclear weapons system ordered by Trump will not include nuclear explosions.
Top Cabinet officials are briefing lawmakers on Venezuela
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are meeting with top lawmakers overseeing national security in a secure facility on Capitol Hill as the Trump administration ups its threats against Venezuela.
The Trump administration has faced criticism from Democrats for holding Republicans-only briefings recently, but the briefing Wednesday included some Democratic lawmakers as well. Top congressional leaders, as well as those overseeing committees on the military, intelligence and foreign relations were invited.
Swiss company leaders meet with Trump on tariffs
A half-dozen leaders of top Swiss companies have met with President Donald Trump at the White House to push for tighter economic ties as Switzerland’s government has sought to lift the from the rich Alpine country.
The corporate chieftains, in a joint statement released Wednesday, said they met a day earlier with Trump in the Oval Office.
The executives said their “private initiative†reaffirmed the “strong economic ties†between Switzerland and the United States and was “highly constructive†– without giving details.
The Swiss business leaders were Diego Aponte of shipping company MSC; Jean-Frederic Dufour of watchmaker Rolex; Alfred Gantner of investment firm Partners Group; Daniel Jaeggi of commodity firm Mercuria; Johann Rupert of luxury goods group Richemont and Marwan Shakarchi of gold and precious metals group MKS Pamp.
Trump mentions Comey’s case on a day ex-FBI director is in court
Maligning critics who have decried him using the power of his Justice Department to target his political enemies, Trump, in a mocking tone, offered, “They say, ‘He’s going after Comey.’â€
He repeated his long stated contention that he was the one who was politically targeted through impeachments and criminal charges.
The comment came the same day that Comey appeared in court on charges of lying to Congress in 2020.
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered prosecutors in Comey’s case to produce to defense lawyers a trove of materials from the investigation, saying he was concerned the Justice Department’s position had been to “indict first†and investigate second.
Does New Jersey’s Mikie Sherrill have a mandate? It’s a ‘big one,’ she says
New Jersey Democratic Gov.-elect said Wednesday in her first comments since a victory speech that she interprets as giving her a big mandate to deliver on promises of making the state more affordable.
Sherrill met with Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in his statehouse office, where the pair said they discussed the transition of governments. Later, she spoke at her administration’s transition office.
Asked if her double-digit victory over Republican Jack Ciattarelli meant she had a mandate, she answered: “Yes, I do, a big one.†She didn’t directly address how she squares her win with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s democratic socialism and stuck to her core campaign message of pursuing affordability.
“I’m really focused on governing here in New Jersey,†she said. “The reason I was so focused on affordability issues is because my communities are focused on affordability issues and how they’re going to be successful.â€
Trump says he’s hopeful Saudi Arabia will soon join Abraham Accords with ambassador in crowd
With a fragile ceasefire holding in Gaza, Trump repeated his hope to build on his signature first term foreign policy effort that led to the forging of diplomatic and commercial ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.
“And hopefully we get Saudi Arabia very soon,†with the Saudi ambassador to Washington, Princess Reema Bandar al-Saud, in the crowd. Trump jokingly added, “I’m not saying that. I’m not lobbying.â€.
Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab economy and the birthplace of Islam.
Getting Riyadh to sign on to a normalization agreement with Israel is seen by the Republican administration as a big step in Trump’s ambitions to stabilize the Middle East.
Trump wants South Africa out of the G20
The U.S. president, during an ostensibly economy-focused speech, said South Africa should not be a member of the Group of 20, a collection of the world’s leading rich and developing economies.
“South Africa shouldn’t even be in the Gs anymore because what’s happening there is bad,†Trump said at the America Business Forum. He reiterated that he will not attend the annual G20 summit for world leaders, to be held later this month in Johannesburg.
Trump has had a contentious relationship with South Africa and had a tense Oval Office meeting with the country’s president earlier this year.
Trump gives a shoutout to Saudi ambassador in aside about price of Thanksgiving dinner
Trump was ticking through positive economic data, including Walmart’s announcing that the price of Thanksgiving dinner staples will be down significantly, when he decided to remark on the presence of Saudi ambassador Reema Bandar al-Saud at his Miami speech.
“That’s a big deal. I don’t know if they care about that in Saudi Arabia, but here it means a lot,†Trump said of the Walmart Thanksgiving prices. “We got the princess here from Saudi Arabia. She’s got a lot of cash, serious cash. And she’s a great person. So she doesn’t care about the price of a turkey is down a little bit. You know, she doesn’t have to worry about it.â€
US to present Gaza stabilization force plan to UN Security Council
The Trump administration will present its resolution Wednesday to members of the U.N. Security Council on an international stabilization force in Gaza, according to a U.S. official.
The proposal would provide a mandate for the force for at least two years, marking the next step in President Donald Trump’s plan to halt two years of war between Israel and Hamas.
Representatives for Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates will join the United States in a show of regional support, according to the official, spoke on condition of anonymity because the closed Security Council briefing has not been formally announced.
The draft also calls for the force to ensure “the process of demilitarizing the Gaza Strip†and “the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups.
-By Matthew Lee and Farnoush Amiri
Trump says ‘a lot of people don’t see’ a strong U.S. economy
The president bragged about the stock market rising and insisted the economy was booming, but also acknowledged that it hasn’t been great for all Americans.
“We have the greatest economy right now,†Trump said. “A lot of people don’t see that.â€
He talked about job creation and said “you have to talk†about such things because “if people don’t talk about them, then you can do not so well in elections.â€
His comments came after Democrats dominated Tuesday’s elections around the country and many voters cited concerns about the economy.
Trump has been quick to note he wasn’t in the ballot, but also said before going to Miami on Wednesday “ .†He promised during the speech to “make America affordable again.â€
Trump says America lost its ‘sovereignty’ with Democratic wins in Tuesday’s elections
Trump said America “lost a little bit of our sovereignty last night†after Democrats swept key elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, mayor in New York City and a ballot initiative in California to redraw its congressional districts in response by efforts by Republican states to do the same.
The president noted that he was speaking in Miami on the first anniversary of his win in the 2024 election, suggesting that it was “the single most consequential election victory in American history.â€
Trump said his return to the White House had allowed the American people to “reclaim our government,†implying as he often has that his Democratic opponents are outside the national identity.
States face deadline to apply for grants meant to offset rural health cuts
Wednesday marks the last day for states to apply for federal funding through the , created through Trump’s summer tax and spending cuts bill as a counterbalance to sweeping that are expected to hit rural hospitals hard.
The program is expected to distribute $50 billion in total, with half of the funds divided equally among states. The other half will be divided based on a formula developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that examines a state’s rural population and the number of low-income people it serves.
Several states have already made public their applications for the funding. The awardees will be announced by the end of the year.
Hospitals and health industry have warned that while the fund throws a lifeline to rural hospitals, it won’t save them all.
Conservative Supreme Court justices appear skeptical of Trump’s sweeping unilateral tariffs
Arguments at the Supreme Court have concluded for the day as the justices consider President Trump’s sweeping unilateral tariffs in a trillion-dollar test of executive power.
Conservative justices seemed skeptical of Trump’s tariffs, potentially putting at risk a key part of his agenda in the biggest legal test yet of his unprecedented presidency.
Challengers say Trump is illegally using an emergency law to claim nearly limitless tariff power and American small businesses are paying the price. Trump’s administration says the law gives the president the power to regulate importation, including tariffs.
The Republican president has said a ruling against him in the case before the court Wednesday would be catastrophic for the economy.
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla takes a pass on 2026 race for California governor
U.S. Sen. Alex is staying put.
The California Democrat who flirted with running for governor in 2026 announced Tuesday he plans to remain in the Senate.
“I choose to stay in this fight,†Padilla told reporters on Capitol Hill in disclosing his decision. “The Constitution is worth fighting for, our fundamental rights are worth fighting for.â€
Fellow Democrats had been urging Padilla, first appointed to the Senate by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, to consider entering a race that lacks a clear leader or star and was left wide open after former Vice President Kamala Harris her decision not to run.
Newsom’s final term runs through January 2027. His party is favored to hold the seat in the heavily Democratic state.
Did Sliwa spoil the race for Cuomo in NYC? Not so fast.
Many have declared Republican Curtis Sliwa the spoiler in the three-way race between him, Democrat Zohran Mamdani and former governor Andrew Cuomo.
But AP Voter Poll data suggests that it’s unlikely that Sliwa’s presence in the race changed the outcome.
When asked how they would vote if only Mamdani and Cuomo were in the race, about half of Sliwa’s supporters said they would have voted for Cuomo. In the hypothetical question, about 4 in 10 Sliwa supporters said they wouldn’t have voted. The remainder either would have moved to Mamdani, or didn’t know what they would do.
The data indicates that even half of Sliwa’s voters on Tuesday would not have been enough to make up the significant lead that Mamdani won by.
With slightly more than 90% of the estimated vote counted, the AP Decision Desk found Mamdani won with 50.4% of the vote, while Cuomo gathered 41.6% percent of the vote. Sliwa, for his part, won 7.1% percent of the vote. Those figures could change as late-arriving mail ballots are added.
Fetterman pours cold water on impact of Democrat’s election wins
Asked about his thoughts on Democrats’ resounding victories in Tuesday’s election, Pennsylvania’s Democratic senator said he didn’t think they meant much, saying Democrats were heavy favorites in both New Jersey and Virginia, as was a ballot measure in California.
“I wasn’t surprised by any of these things,†said Sen. John Fetterman.
Whether the results will have an impact on the shutdown, Fetterman said he didn’t think Democrats should be treating the shutdown “like it’s some kind of a political game.â€
“If people think that we should keep it closed because of the elections that we already knew we were going to win, it’s like then that seems like it’s a game,†he added.
Democrats expand majorities
Democrats expanded their majorities Tuesday in both the New Jersey Assembly and Virginia House and broke a Republican supermajority in the Mississippi Senate.
Democrats flipped control of two Mississippi Senate districts that had been redrawn under court order to increase Black voter representation. The reshaped districts played a significant role in Democrats’ victories, said Heather Williams, president of the national Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
“When there are representative maps -- and there is a process that actually gives voters a choice of who their elected officials are -- we can connect with voters and win,†said Williams, adding: “Mississippi was a prime example of that.â€
But the future of such districts could be in doubt. That’s because the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing a legal challenge to the section of the federal Voting Rights Act allowing such court intervention.
Trump’s Oval Office redecoration may reach the exterior, too
Reporters waiting near the South Lawn for the president to leave on a trip to Florida noticed what appeared to be a mock-up of a sign that says, “The Oval Office.â€
The flowery, gold lettering appeared to be written on some type of temporary paper that was put up on the wall near the door where reporters enter for Trump’s appearances in the Oval with foreign leaders, Cabinet members or other guests.
The White House had no comment on the sign.
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